Some dates on the calendar just seem to lend themselves to cool baseball happenings. Today, April 7, is one of those days.
Throughout baseball history, on the field and off, special feats and momentous moments of varying degrees have made their appearance on this date.
MORE: 10 single-season MLB feats we'll never see again
On April 7, 1979, Ken Forsch of the Astros recorded the earliest no-hitter in MLB history when he blanked the Braves at the Astrodome.
Five years later, on April 7, 1984, Jack Morris of the Tigers matched him when he no-hit the White Sox on the NBC "Game of the Week."
Pitching was again the theme on April 7, 1987, when Rick Mahler of the Braves tossed a complete-game opening day shutout against the Phillies — the third time he'd blanked a team on opening day, tying the National League record.
On April 7, 1994, we got the only look at NBA legend Michael Jordan playing baseball in a major league uniform in a major league stadium as the White Sox and Cubs played an exhibition game at Wrigley Field. Jordan went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
On April 7, 1969, Bill Singer of the Dodgers recorded the first save in MLB history, which, while not nearly as cool as no-hitters and shutouts, is still a noteworthy moment.
On April 7, 1977, Frank Sinatra fullfilled a promise to sing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium if friend Tommy Lasorda ever became manager. Lasorda, previously the Dodgers' third-base coach, was named manager in September 1976. (Sadly, the video appears to have been excised from the interwebs.)
Baseball has had a special relationship with April 7 off the field, too. Three classic baseball movies — "The Bad News Bears" (1976), "Major League" (1989) and "The Sandlot" (1993) — all hit theaters on this date.
There have been plenty of lesser moments happen on April 7, too: the first-ever games of the Brewers (1970) and the Blue Jays (1977), Dwight Gooden's big-league debut (1984), and Dwight Evans hitting the first pitch of the entire 1986 season for a homer (1986), to name a few.
It's probably a stretch to say April 7 is a red-letter date in baseball history like, say, April 8, but it's certainly been an interesting one.
